Garage door operating systems that directly connect to sectional garage doors are well known and must have a manual disconnect mechanism that allows such operating system to be disconnected from the door. The disconnect mechanism is required to make it possible to operate the door manually in the case of power failures, fire, or emergency situations where entrapment of a person or object occurs in the garage. In these instances, the disconnect mechanism operates to allow manual displacement of the door to make it possible, for example, to enter or exit the garage. The majority of motorized operating systems for residential garage doors employ a carriage (or trolley) type operating system, which applies force to a section of the door powering it between the open and closed positions.
In a carriage-type operating system, the manual disconnect mechanism typically includes a disconnecting means such as emergency release cord, rope or bar extending from the carriage (also referred to as a carriage assembly). Such disconnecting means (and an optional handle affixed to it) is required to extend within six feet of the garage floor to permit grasping and actuation by a person from inside the garage. In terms of security, the carriage's movement places the release cord, for example, in a proximity to the garage door when the garage door is closed. When windows are added to the top section of the garage door, a window may be broken, and the release cord, easily within the reach of an intruder, may be snagged and pulled towards the garage door thereby causing a manual opening of the garage door. Similar problem exists even in absence of the garage door windows, because a slot-like opening is often present above the upper section of the garage door, through which the intruder can reach the release cord.